Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have criticized Meta‘s significant rollback of its fact-checking program and content moderation policies, joining a growing number of public figures voicing concerns about the implications for online safety and democracy.
In a statement released online, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex criticized Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program and loosen content moderation rules, arguing these changes “directly undermine free speech” despite the company’s claims to the contrary.
“Meta’s changes to its ‘Hateful Content Policies’ do not protect free expression but instead foster an environment where abuse and hate speech silence and threaten the voices of whole communities who make up a healthy democracy,” the couple stated.
Under new chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan, Meta is shifting to a Community Notes model and lifting restrictions on what it calls “topics that are part of mainstream discourse.”
The Archewell Foundation also expressed concern over Meta’s plans to abandon commitments to diversity and equity, coupled with internal policy changes affecting marginalized communities. These decisions, they noted, align with warnings from experts and families about how platform design impacts online safety, especially for children.
The Sussexes’ statement emphasized the global implications of Meta’s policy changes, arguing that “the politics of one country should never determine whether freedom of expression and civil and human rights are protected in the online spaces so clearly shaping or destroying democracy.”
The royal couple’s foundation announced new partnerships and support for organizations working on online safety and accountability, including the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry and Parents Together. They’re also collaborating with Screen Sanity to develop safety-by-design education for parents.
